Has Vietnam turned a corner in its coronavirus fight?

As capital Hanoi leaves behind nearly two months of lockdown-like movement restrictions, Ho Chi Minh City residents are still largely confined to their homes

But the southern business hub, which accounts for almost one-third of Vietnam’s state budget and 80 per cent of its 18,017 virus deaths, is under pressure to reopen

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Heavy traffic in Hanoi on Wednesday following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the Vietnamese capital. Photo: Xinhua

Sen Nguyenin Ho Chi Minh City

Published: 8:00am, 24 Sep 2021Updated: 12:00pm, 24 Sep 2021

On the day Hanoi re-emerged from coronavirus lockdown, Tran Khanh Thien went out for a ride. After nearly two months of movement restrictions, the Vietnamese capital’s streets were once again lined with parked cars and filled with the noise of roaring motorbike engines.

Restaurants and shops were open, the 27-year-old entrepreneur said of his outing on Tuesday, though there were still plenty of signs urging social distancing and “100 per cent of people” were wearing masks.

Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam’s virus epicentre more than 1,500km (700 miles) to the south by road – most residents, like single mother Le Hoai Minh, are still forbidden to leave their homes, even to shop for food.

Near-empty roads are seen in Ho Chi Minh City amid its coronavirus lockdown. Photo: Bloomberg

Movement restrictions in the southern city have made life difficult for the employee of a financial company, who said she had struggled to adjust and found herself still wanting “to go out and go to work like before”. Making matters worse, the hospital she used to regularly attend for check-ups – having recently recovered from cancer – now only admits Covid-19 patients.

Vietnam has turned a corner in its fight against the coronavirus and can now “see light at the end of the tunnel”, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son said in a statement on Wednesday, with Covid-19 deaths and case numbers trending downwards and the number of patients needing critical care coming under control.